TEAM HERALD
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
SANGUEM: The main canal from the Selaulim Irrigation Project gave way at Bethmoddi-Quepem on Wednesday night, disrupting irrigation water supply to a large number of farmers in South Goa.
“On getting information about a 15-metre breach in the canal, Water Resources Department (WRD) officials stopped water supply from the SIP at about 11.15 pm,” Executive Engineer Shivanand Pathan told Herald.
“It will take 4-5 days to complete the repair work, as a lot of debris has to be cleared from the site before the repair work actually commences. Workers have already begun clearing the debris,” Pathan added.
Those affected by the disruption of irrigation water supply include farmers from Sanguem, Cacora, Curchorem, Quepem, Malkarnem, Chandor and many parts of Salcete.
“Since the breach has taken place in the main canal, no alternate arrangements for supply of irrigation water can be made. Any decision regarding alternate arrangements for supply of irrigation water to the affected farmers will be taken by the State government in due course of time,” claimed Pathan.
He informed that work to repair the damaged canal has begun on a war-footing, with workers toiling round the clock.
Affected farmers have, however, feared that the disruption in irrigation water supply could cause heavy losses to their fields and plantations.
“The worst affected due to the sudden breach in the canal are the paddy cultivators who have recently undertaken transplantation and also those who were in the process of transplanting the crops. With no water supply, paddy fields will become dry within a day,” claimed a farmer, Josinho D’Costa from Malkarnem.
“Most farmers in these areas have no alternate source of water supply and they have been solely dependent on the supply from the SIP,” D’Costa added.
Sources told Herald that every year, the work to clean the canal would be allotted to different contractors for different portions of the canal, before the release of the irrigation water. But this year, the entire contract to clean the canal was allotted to a single contractor.
Incidentally, when this correspondent visited the site at about 2.15 pm, not a single WRD official was present to supervise the repair work.
